Ba Shan restaurant interior
Like many readers of food blogs, I’m ruled by my stomach. Like many Americans, I miss the American-Chinese classic known as “the General.” Put the two characteristics together, and it makes sense why, when Mr. Noodles announced the appearance of General Tso’s chicken at Ba Shan (the former Szechuan restaurant now revamped as a Hunan place), I high-tailed it to Ba Shan immediately. It hardly mattered that the last time I was at Ba Shan, it was just another inconsistent Szechuan restaurant.
pickled spicy cucumbers (£4.90)
The hard part was deciding what else to order besides the General. This being a Hunan place, we figured it’d be wise to try the pickled goodies, and Ba Shan’s spicy cucumbers were highly addictive. Crisp, refreshing, and with a chili kick alleviated by soy sauce and sesame oil. We felt virtuous eating vegetables prior to the arrival of the General.
General Tsos chicken (£7.90)
Like most highly-anticipated things in life, Ba Shan’s General didn’t quite meet expectations. For starters, the chicken pieces are too small, and the sauce wasn’t intensely sweet and salty enough. This being a Hunan-inspired dish, I was expecting more chili spice. And there really shouldn’t be any stir-fried vegetables in there (at most, you usually see big chunks of broccoli on the side).
Click here to see how the General is supposed to look and taste.
Still, even if the dish wasn’t quite General Tso’s chicken, it was tasty. I mean, battered-and-fried chicken pieces dumped in a lightly-sweetened soy-based sauce. Hard not to like it.
Pengs fried tofu (6.90)
And for the tofu lovers out there, Ba Shan’s version of Peng’s fried tofu was excellent. Large, meaty slices of tofu slathered in chilis and sauce. Perfect over plain white rice.
Overall, Ba Shan has improved a lot by becoming a Hunan restaurant, so I’ll be back to try some of the other dishes.
Alas, the search for the General continues . . . .
Ba Shan, 24 Romilly Street, W1D 5AH; 0207 287 3266; closest Tube stations: Leicester Square or Piccadilly Circus.
went with Mr. Noodels to Ba Shan and I absolutely loved it. i have to say though – I had never before eaten General Tso’s chicken and, after having tried it at Ba Shan, I didn’t think it tasted so super special. Let me know when you find the perfect version!
Believe me – if I find a version in London that reminds me of home, I will def blog about it (to the dismay of readers who are tired of hearing me bang on about it)!
A shame that it isn’t quite the real General but it is better than the effort at No.10 in Earl’s Court – not hard I know! I must try the real thing when I’m next in the US!
The next time you visit Ba Shan, you must give the menu a real going over – stuff like the mashed aubergine and the steamed catfish w/salted chillies are real winners.
OK, this is really appealing right now. I had forgotten it had changed – time to get done there.
Ah, still not the General then. Still, the dishes at Ba Shan are looking more appealing!
This makes me slightly homesick for the General Tso’s chicken at Middle Kingdom in Ann Arbor. Absolutely MASSIVE slabs of chicken, amazing sauce, soup and sides all for about $6. Also contained about 3 day’s worth of calories, but ho hum…
Sounds exactly like what I’m talking about, lol, although my favorite version at home comes from Hunan Cottage and I wouldn’t say the chicken pieces are unusually large. (Large by UK standards, of course).
I love this obsession with the General, I am still a little confused as to what it actually is but given I am in the US at the moment I think I should try and find a Chinese restaurant quick smart
So – did you try it out? I’d be curious what the General looks and tastes like in Vegas. Jon used to travel regularly to Richmond, Virginia for work, and a few times when he ate at a Chinese place down there, he’d order something and the waitress would say “oh, that’s a northern dish.” And it turned out she didn’t mean “northern Chinese.” She meant “northern USA.”
Ba Shan used to be one of the better sichuanese; but i think its really overpriced for those portion sizes and the quality isn’t any better than chilli cool!
cannot believe its hunanese now!
I visited Ba Shan when it first opened and wasn’t impressed. A later visit in it’s Hunanese state was far better, and I really enjoyed it. That catfish dish with the salted chillis is super.
(I made General Tso’s Chicken on the blog – goddamn it was tasty)
Only time I’ve ever had General Tso’s chicken was out of a takeaway box from Gourmet San which though a little greasy (as most things in My Old Place and Gourmet San are…) was actually very comforting!! Had never even known what a hit it was on the US-Chinese takeaway scene until i googled it…
You know, I eat at My Old Place (Gourmet San’s sibling) pretty regularly bc it’s near my office and have never noticed the General on the menu. Would you say Gourmet San’s version is any good?
[...] for another lovely weekend, though upgrading room types wasn’t worth the money. Back to Ba Shan (now Hunanese) in search of the elusive General Tso’s chicken; and back to Murano, whose freebies are still the same and still delish. Jon and I took a 10-day [...]